Reading FC Match Report: 2016/2017 Season - Championship

24 September 2016READING 1 HUDDERSFIELD 0

Reading: R Beerens (41 mins). Huddersfield: --

Reading extended their unbeaten run to eight games and moved in to fourth place in the table with a narrow and hard fought victory over league leaders Huddersfield. The first half saw The Royals dominate possession and take the lead with a deflected shot from Beerens shortly before half time. The visitors were reduced to ten men midway through the half when Van La Parra received a second yellow card for dissent, but even before the dismissal, Reading were dominating possession. The second half was a different story as Huddersfield, with nothing to lose, pressed hard for an equaliser. There were anxious moments for Reading particularly in the closing stages as the visitor’s pressure began to create some good chances. Ultimately it was resolute defending which allowed Reading to claim three points, but Huddersfield deserve credit for the way they tried to claw their way back into the game.

Full of confidence Huddersfield registered the first shot of the match on target as Smith had Al Habsi scrambling to his left to push the ball past the post. Reading soon settled into their pattern of play looking ever more comfortable on the ball. Perhaps Van Den Berg became a little over-confident getting caught in possession twice in quick succession. The second error left Obita in trouble and was scythed down by Van La Parra as he tried to retain possession. Not long after the Town player was shown a second yellow for his foolishly petulant response to the referee’s handling of the game. Pressure mounted further on the visitors defence and Swift almost gave Reading the lead with a superb strike from twenty-five yards which rattled the upright with Ward completely beaten by the pace of the shot. McShane got in on the act with a good effort from even further out which flew just wide. It seemed only a matter of time before Reading, making the most of the extra man, took the lead. On forty-one minutes good work from Harriot on the right ended up with the ball dropping to Beerens at the far post. A good first touch a crisp strike and Reading were ahead although Ward was not helped by a significant deflection.

Obita did not come out for the second half which I assume was due to an injury. His replacement, Watson, looked very comfortable in possession and, unlike Obita, managed to take players on and go past them. Surprisingly Evans came on to replace Van den Berg which was possibly to make the midfield more secure defensively, but Evans playing deeper than Van den Berg had may have encouraged Town to be a little more adventurous. Swift also was withdrawn probably due to lack of fitness but Quinn always gives the midfield a lift and it still puzzles me why he is not selected ahead of Williams. If fact Quinn might have sealed the win in the seventy-second minute with a good strike which was perhaps too close to Ward. Harriot was becoming more active as Reading looked to hit Town on the break. Kermorgant began to emerge as a key player defensively. He chased back to close players down and won some important headers when Reading were under intense pressure. His link up play was also superb and although he has only scored once this season his contribution to the team is invaluable. So Reading hung on as Huddersfield could not find the finish for which they worked so hard. Even Wells, their most reliable finisher, missed chances. It was not their day. They are a good side but need to learn to keep their opinions to themselves at certain times. Kachunga was also lucky to stay on the pitch when he continued to verbally abuse the referee’s assistant immediately after being shown yellow for the very same offence.

In his post-match interview Jaap Stam rightly focused on the need to learn from today’s game. Good though Huddersfield are it was a lack of composure on the ball from Reading that presented them with the opportunity to mount a period of sustained pressure which could have been costly. In the first half the extra man allowed Van Den Berg to push forward making it difficult for Huddersfield to get out of their own half and allowing Reading to play around and through the defence. It just did not happen in the second half. No one will be getting carried away just yet but Stam is definitely on the right track and Reading fans should be feeling very positive about this season.

John Wells

Post Match Fans' Opinion

John Madejski's Wallet

» 24 Sep 2016 17:52

Well that was a breathless last 30 min!

Looked like nailed on 0-0 bore brawn until their moronic sending off (Well's response was )

The slight formation change went a bit wrong for me. Harriott was wasted as the right of a front 3 and the massive gap to the front line meant we were going long more than Stam would have been happy with.

2nd half Huddersfield realised if they put us under pressure we'd crack and if they attacked we'd be there for the taking..... bet they're a bit irked they didn't try in the first half

Still, very enjoyable. Kermogant works like a demon. Williams wasteful again (repeatedly)

John Madejski's Wallet

» 24 Sep 2016 17:55

Oh and shout out to McShane's super silky winger skillz with comedy end product

Linden Jones' Tash

» 24 Sep 2016 18:02

Was it just me, or did we suddenly lose the ability to hold the ball when JVDB and Swift were subbed?

They were ripping us apart after that...

Good 3 pts, we need the balanced midfield to work better.

Oh for a goalscoring forward...

Winston Smith

» 24 Sep 2016 18:07

Lol @ their number 44. Looked some some lumbering special fan had won a competition to get a 10 minute run out for his local team.

John Madejski's Wallet

» 24 Sep 2016 18:08

Yeah those subs made us worse imo.

But then on another day they'd have been fine. Fair play to Huddersfield really

oh_ROAR

» 24 Sep 2016 18:11

Williams needs to look up and pass more, got lucky in the second half as he was persistently fouled so his runs weren't a complete waste

royalp-we

» 24 Sep 2016 18:14

A massive win. Extremely lucky. The crosses at the end almost ended in heartbreak.

But that is what this league is, a lucky break, a stern back line & a goal from nothing.

If we can keep up those effort levels then we'll be fighting with the rest of them.

A nod to the team, most notably, Moore, Roy Beerens & John Swift; super acquisitions this summer who play the way Stam sets us up.

Makes this season far more exciting; even if it is momentary.

blueroyals

» 24 Sep 2016 18:20

Great performance 1st half but can't rely on goals from midfield all season. I'd still take mid-table.

NewCorkSeth

» 24 Sep 2016 18:24

Same! Happy to see us getting the results and sharing the goals but I won't be too disappointed if we can't keep this up! The dressing room seems to be confident and we have a few players that seem to be real performers. I'm just happy we are giving it a go!

K.URZ13

» 24 Sep 2016 18:29

What was the average age of that team? Kermit,the oldest outfield player, but you wouldn't have guessed it from his work rate today.
Fantastic win, not getting carried away, but very very pleasing atm.

Saaaaaaaammmmmm

» 24 Sep 2016 18:34

One of the weirdest games I've seen in a long time. We were absolutely coasting, then VdB came off for seemingly no reason and we went into total meltdown

I'm a big Gunter fan and have spent many years defending him, but after his mistake that led to his yellow, he was completely and utterly all over the place, with their No.9 beating him every time either in the air or on the floor. You could argue it's because he isn't a LB, but I've seen him play there a few times and look completely comfortable, it's almost like he panicked after almost getting sent off and that state of panic lasted 30 minutes.

Gunter isn't usually my scapegoat, that's Williams, so I'll go back to slagging off Danny. How on earth does he get picked every single week without fail? Quinn and Kelly were brilliant whilst he was suspended, so why is one of them stuck on the bench and the other not even in the 18? Yes, they're different players to Williams, but what sort of player is he? What does he offer? He kept losing the ball, he missed opportunities to play players in, and once again he wasn't good enough. I say it every week yet he appears to be the first name on the team sheet.

People are complaining that we don't have a striker, but I'm not sure that's a huge deal. Our midfield with players like Swift, Beerens and I suppose today Harriott can create goals out of nothing. Kermorgant brings you something completely different, just an absolutely phenomenal player in the air, and he's pretty creative as well even if sometimes you wish he was more selfish.

I mention Harriott as it was his brilliant wing-play that created the goal, although he was a bit like how the Charlton fans described him, apart from that flash of magic, he went a bit missing and didn't really offer anything. A shame after two great performances in the cup as this was his chance to nail down a league spot but I imagine McCleary will be straight back in post-suspension.

Watson was superb again, not sure what he's going to have to do to force his way in. I was reluctant to join in with the hype given he was seemingly only in the team as we had no other options, but every time I've seen him he's been excellent. Haven't seen a full-back go past players with the ease he does, although on the edge of our penalty area I'd rather he didn't.

Highlight of the game from our side was definitely McShane skipping down the wing and nutmegging their LB, although their red card was just - how utterly brainless can you get?

Subs were very strange, like I said we fell apart when VdB but on top of that Evans dropped far too deep and invited them on to us. Suddenly we were outnumbered in midfield because Evans, McShane and Moore were dropping back further and further every time Huddersfield had the ball. Also taking off Swift, what purpose? Meant we had to play 20 minutes without any subs which almost backfired when Williams got injured and hobbled around the pitch for the rest of the game.

In the play-offs and unbeaten since Wolves, but the second half performance was a bit scary. Huddersfield missed some genuine sitters in the last 10 minutes, but to be fair to them they seem a decent team

ILoveMoonPig

» 24 Sep 2016 18:35

Good game against good opposition. they looked good in the second half but that was more because we went ultra defensive.

Opposition seemed fairly good. They relied very heavily on the right winger and the guy in the middle with the shaved head. Can't remember a single opportunity of theirs coming from the left, though admittedly, when you're a man down, one position will always be lacking.

They could be in trouble after January, when the struggling premier league clubs come looking for in-form championship players. You don't want to go drawing attention to your players this side of Christmas.

Going defensive with 30 minutes left was always going to invite pressure. How Wells didn't score at the back post is beyond me.